


An Unwanted Sacrifice

by AceOnIce



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Magnus Bane, Canonical Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Immortal Magnus Bane, Insecure Alec Lightwood, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Mundane Alec Lightwood, Protective Magnus Bane, Supportive Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22093279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceOnIce/pseuds/AceOnIce
Summary: Magnus, the god of war and fire, hasn't received a sacrifice in a decade, but that doesn't mean he's going to let a village sacrifice an innocent man to gain Magnus' blessing. He decides to save the man and make the village regret ever wanting to hurt him.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 22
Kudos: 470





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Kid in the Temple](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22092397) by [Magpie_Crow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magpie_Crow/pseuds/Magpie_Crow). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus is lamenting a recent lack of worship when he feels a village preparing to offer him a sacrifice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than I intended, but once I had the idea I had to write it. Enjoy.

Magnus had spent nearly a decade with no prayers being said to him, no altars being constructed for him, none of his temples worshipped. Most of the world was at peace or no longer believed in the old gods. Without the attention, Magnus could feel himself wilting away in his underground palace.

He wasn't always alone. There were other gods- Ragnor, Catarina, Dot. But they were much busier than him, still worshipped. Water, health, and safety would never stop being wished for. Fire was becoming almost obsolete and, with it, Magnus. 

He paced the long hallway of his underground palace, waving his hand to create blue sparks as he walked. Making sure he could still use his magic even as he felt himself fading. He wondered how long he had left. If another war would start and call him back. He could always go above ground, incite some violence- it's what his father, a god of war and death, would do- but Magnus couldn't justify the human casualties that would follow that decision.

Magnus wandered back down the hallway when he felt an energy stirring around him. It was loose and undefined, but he could feel it building, growing stronger. He recognized it for what it was. A sacrifice. Someone was finally making a sacrifice for him. With equal parts trepidation and excitement, Magnus snapped his fingers to put his glamour in place. The glow of his skin died down, his yellow cat eyes became round brown ones. He even made the effort to transform his clothing into a plain tunic and pants.

Confident that he wouldn't be noticed, Magnus waved his hand, making a portal appear in front of him. He stepped through it into soft grass at the edge of a sprawling village. The buildings were made of brick, tall and wide. There were paved cobblestone roads and glass windows and a well pumping water into every home. The village was thriving.

And yet, as far as Magnus could see, there were no people. No movement came from inside the houses. No one tended to their gardens. No kids hopped down the streets or hurried to complete chores for their parents. The buildings hadn't been abandoned- Magnus could feel the buzz of energy surrounding them. The entire population was gathered together, somewhere near the center of the village. They were creating his sacrificial offering. Whatever it was must have been big. Whatever they were asking for in return was, most likely, bigger.

Magnus followed the energy, so keyed up he had to remind himself not to use his abilities to get there faster. He had to be invisible, to see what was being offered and decide if he would help, before he revealed himself. _If_ he revealed himself.

Finding the center of the village was easy. The entirety of the town was there, crowding around an old bald man who stood on a podium, preaching about becoming a civilization, creating a legacy. It frustrated Magnus that he couldn't see what was being offered up. His magic couldn't even find it, confused by the amount of people milling around.

Magnus began to shove his way through the crowd, until he passed a woman with dark hair, sobbing into her hands. A blond man stood by her side, one hand cupped over his mouth, the other resting on her shoulder. Magnus paused. "Excuse me, may I ask what all this commotion is about?"

The man glared at him. "What, are you new? It's a sacrifice."

The girl elbowed the blond and looked at Magnus, dark eyes swimming with tears. She was beautiful in the saddest way. "They want to start a war so they're making an offering, an old, antiquated, idiotic sacrifice, to the god of war and fire."

It startled Magnus to hear someone talk about sacrifice like that. It intrigued him, but it also made him nervous. He'd experienced a wide array of sacrifices in his past including live, and dead, animals, objects people associated with him, knick-knacks for prayers that lacked real passion. Yet, he'd never heard anyone degrade the sanctity of the offering.

The girl wasn't crying any more, looking at Magnus like she was confused by him, like she had just realized he wasn't a commoner. Magnus ensured his glamour was still in place before asking, "What is the sacrifice?"

She went pale. "My brother."

Magnus felt a chill go down his spine. There hadn't been a human sacrifice in at least a century. Why now?

The old man on the podium folded up the scroll he'd been reading from. "Now we ask that our god, destroyer and protector of man, master of fire, son of death, accept our offering and grant us his protection." The man struck a match and appeared to drop it at his feet.

Magnus forgot all pretenses and moved through the crowd in a blur, arriving in the middle of it in less than a second. The match had just made contact with the wood at the bottom of a pyre. On top of it knelt a man, pale except for the bruises and scars that littered his body. His head was ducked, arms held above his head, cuffed to a piece of wood connecting the two sides of the structure.

Without a conscious thought, Magnus' magic burst out around him, a bright red that matched the burning of the flame as it put out the fire and knocked the old man to the ground. Magnus was pretty sure he was just unconscious, but he didn't care enough to check. Instead, he snapped his fingers and the cuffs around the sacrifice's wrists disintegrated. The man jolted forward at the sudden lack of restraint, but Magnus caught him before he could fall and opened a portal to take them back to his palace.

As soon as the portal closed behind him, Magnus ran his hands over the man's face. It was covered in blood and bruises as much as the rest of him. Magnus used his magic, now back to its normal blue, to heal the man's wounds and clean the blood from his body. He was actually quite handsome when he didn't look like he was about to die.

The man fell to the ground, but before Magnus had time to worry, he had folded into a position of worship. His weight was balanced over his knees, face to the ground, arms stretched out in front of him.

Magnus recoiled at the sight. Normally he loved being worshipped, but not from this man who had nearly been murdered for him. "Get up."

The man hesitated, but slowly stood, remaining hunched over, his face down. "I apologize sincerely."

"I don't want your apologies," Magnus snapped, regretting his tone when the man flinched back. He took a breath, shook his hand to let out a few sparks of magic and anger. He didn't want this man to be afraid of him. "I didn't intend to frighten you. You have nothing to apologize for."

The man stood silent, eyes down.

"What is your name?"

There was a pause. The man cleared his throat. "Alec. Alexander Lightwood. Your highness? Your excellency?"

"Your Highness is my father, please, just call me Magnus." His attempt at a joke fell flat as Alec didn't so much as lift his chin.

"You took me alive," Alec said quietly.

"Well, I wasn't going to let them burn you at the stake."

Alec dropped to his knees again, but instead of putting his face to the floor, he used one arm to grasp his other wrist behind his back and look up Magnus. He looked like a soldier with his arms held the way they were and his eyes emitted the same quiet resolve. As much as Magnus enjoyed the sight of the beautiful man kneeling in front of him, he was also worried by it.

"What are you doing?"

Alec visibly gulped. "I was told if you took me alive, you would want me for..." He glanced at the ground and then back up. "For pleasure. Just tell me how you want me."

"Oh Darling, no." Magnus bent to mimic Alec's posture, kneeling on the hard floor. "Listen to me Alexander, I didn't take you because I wanted something from you. I brought you here to protect you from those pathetic, hateful, people."

Magnus could see the effect his words had on Alec. The man let his hands fall to his side, leaning back so he was balanced on the tops of his feet as well as his knees. He wouldn't meet Magnus' eyes, but he lifted his head at least. "Why?"

"Because they didn't have the right to exchange your life for war favors. Favors that I will not be granting them. In fact, I'm tempted to burn the whole village to the ground." The only reason he'd restrained himself originally was because his priority had been saving Alec.

"No!" It was the first thing Alec had said confidently, nearly shouting it. He seemed to realize this as well. "Please, my family is there. Please don't hurt them."

Magnus nodded and placed a hand on Alec's arm, prompting him to stand. Once they were both on their feet Magnus sighed. "I won't hurt them. Just tell me how I can help you. What do you need? Rest? A shower? There's not much to do around here, but whatever you need can be arranged for."

Alec glanced around the empty, windowless room. "It'd be nice to sit down?"

"Of course." Magnus waved his hand and the most comfortable sofa he could imagine appeared behind Alec. The man glanced at it then at Magnus then situated himself on the edge of one side of the sofa. Magnus pursed his lips, wondering if Alec would ever grow comfortable around him. When he'd lamented over his lack of companionship, this hadn't been what he had in mind. He didn't want to be revered or feared by the ones he let closest to him. "Alexander, why were they sacrificing you?"

Alec fidgeted with his tunic. "They were going to start a war soon. They hoped a sacrifice would appeal to you so their efforts would be blessed. A human life is the largest sacrifice to be made, isn't it?"

The question seemed rhetorical, but Magnus answered anyways. "It is, but it's also highly dangerous. Most gods are rather fond of humans and will lash out if one is murdered in their name."

"Like you?" Alec asked.

"Like me. People think because I'm a god of war that I appreciate human sacrifice, but it's sickening to see humans turn on each other to win my praise. Why you? Why were they sacrificing you?"

Alec ducked his head. "It was always going to be someone from my family. My parents were traitors. One of their children would be sacrificed. It was supposed to be Izzy. She's the only girl and the most attractive of us, but I couldn't let her die. I offered myself up, begged them to take me instead."

The crying girl. She had said her brother was the sacrifice. Magnus hadn't realized she was the one they were planning on sacrificing originally. "You were going to be burned alive to protect your family?"

"I didn't have another choice."

"You did. What you did was very honorable, but it shouldn't have been necessary. I _will_ punish the people responsible for this."

Alec was staring at him and Magnus realized he'd let his glamour fall when he'd sworn his revenge. He hurried to put it back up. Alec blinked as Magnus' appearance once again resembled that of a normal human. "What was that?"

"I'm sorry, I can't control it sometimes-"

"Wait, so that's what you really look like?"

Magnus had kept his true appearance hidden for long enough that in all of the legends and drawings, he was shown as being a godly representation of a normal man. His cat eyes weren't evident in any of them. "It is."

"Will you do it again?" Alec was making eye contact now, leaning forward in the couch, some of the tension gone from his shoulders. Magnus let the glamour fall and watched as Alec's breath caught. "They're beautiful." His gaze trailed over Magnus' faintly glowing skin. "You're beautiful." He leaned forward, a hand lifted like he wanted to touch Magnus. Magnus was disappointed when he dropped it.

"That's not the reaction I normally get," Magnus admitted, basking in the attention he was being given. He was practically melting at the sincere compliment. 

"What's the reaction you normally get?"

Magnus shakes his head. "It's no matter. You need rest. And I need to curse the village that attempted to kill you. Don't worry, I won't harm your family."

"Can I come with you?" Alec's voice had gone soft and unsure again and Magnus found he much preferred when Alec spoke without so much fear. "I know I was sacrificed and I accept that. I'm not going to try to run away or anything, I just want to see my family. Please."

"Alexander, you're not my prisoner. I merely brought you here to protect you. You are free to do as you please. If you wish to return to your village, of course you can. If you want me to take you somewhere else, I will." Alec stared at him again. Magnus wished he could tell what he was thinking. "You need rest. I have eight bedrooms, you can pick whichever you like and after you've slept we'll return to your village. You can think about if you'd like to stay there or where you'd have me take you instead."

Alec nodded and followed Magnus down the hallway so Magnus could show off his eight delightfully decorated bedrooms. Each one was modeled after another god's domain. Alec looked over them all with awe. When they arrived at Magnus' room, Alec ran his hand over the dark red wall. The room was composed of red and black furniture, small silver objects mixed in. "Can I stay in this one?"

Magnus nodded, unable to do anything else. Of all the fantastical rooms, the brighter ones that radiated happiness and the cool calm ones, Alec had chosen this one. The one Magnus normally claimed for himself as it represented everything he ruled over.

Alec sat on the edge of the bed and Magnus silently lectured himself for getting carried away, almost drooling over the man. He waved his hand and clothing appeared on the bed. "Some sleepwear. Do you need anything else? Water?"

"Water would be good."

Another wave and a glass of water appeared on the bedside table. "Let me know if I can do anything else for you, I'll be in the room to the left."

Magnus turned to go, but stopped when Alec spoke, finally sounding confident in himself. "Magnus."

He turned and offered a small smile, expecting to be asked for something else. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

Magnus froze, stunned. His chest felt tight. "Of course. Sleep well Alexander."

He left the room, shutting the door behind him, and leaned against the wall. He had a beautiful, kind, loyal, man in his bed and he couldn't even do anything about it. Worse than that, he was beginning to feel possessive over this human and tomorrow he'd have to let him go. He'd made a promise he didn't intend to break. If he did, he was sure it would only make Alec hate him. No, he would take Alec wherever he asked to go and then he would return to his empty palace, alone, and drink away his loneliness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Magnus return to the village to get revenge.

When morning came, Magnus made sure there was a feast of breakfast options laid out on the table for Alec to chose from. He knew he was being ridiculous, offering a variety of food wasn't going to convince Alec to choose to stay with him, hidden away in an empty castle underground, separated from his family. Still, he summoned the best french toast he'd ever had and added it to the array. 

"What is all this?"

The deep voice, husky with sleep, made Magnus turn. Alec was standing under the arch that separated the kitchen from the rest of the palace. He was dressed in his clothes from the day before, studying the food.

Magnus forced a smile. "I didn't know what you liked so I got a bit of everything."

"Magnus, this is enough to feed an army for a year." Alec rubbed his eyes as Magnus handed him a plate.

"Eat what you want, don't worry about the rest of it." Magnus began loading up his own plate. He didn't _need_ to eat, but he did enjoy it. 

Alec added a good combination of foods to his plate before he sat opposite of Magnus and stared down at his food. "What are you going to do to the village?"

Magnus had spent the entire night brainstorming ways to make them pay. He had yet to settle on a solution, but he had a few options in mind. "Do you have a preference?" Alec stabbed at a piece of ham, but didn't eat it. "Alexander, you can tell me what you're thinking, I won't be upset."

Alec sighed. "Okay, it's just... There's good people there. I know you want to punish them because they disrespected you, but some of them were just trying to protect their own families by going along with it. I don't think they deserve to be harmed."

"They were going to kill you."

"I know. I do. And I know it sounds crazy for me to ask for forgiveness for any of them, but I grew up there. I had friends that lived there. I'm sorry."

"I told you you don't have to apologize." Magnus considered the rest of Alec's words before nodding. "If you don't want me to harm them, I won't. What would you have me do instead?"

Alec squirmed in his seat, probably due to the extreme discomfort of attempting to give advice to a god. "If it were me, I'd take away what the leaders care about most. They want to attack other villages, hurt people, for glory. I'd take that away."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes. Okay." Magnus was already thinking of how to implement Alec's plan. It wasn't the glorious revenge he'd had in mind, but if it would make Alec happy, he'd do it. 

"Thank you." Alec seemed a little stunned as he finally began eating. 

Magnus nodded distractedly. "And will you be staying there? If I make it safe for you?"

Alec's face scrunched up and Magnus had to tell himself it wasn't the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. "No. There's bad blood, a vendetta against my family. It will be worse if they realize you cursed them because of me. I'll find my family and take them somewhere safe."

"There's a village I think you would like. A small place near the beach. I can take your family there. Everyone is friendly, you'll be safe."

"That would be great, actually."

"Alright. It's settled then." Magnus attempted to keep a nonchalant facade. He picked up his plate, hunger gone, and magicked it away. "I'll be down the hall, preparing. Let me know when you're ready. Oh, I'll leave some clean clothes in the room you slept in."

Magnus escaped down the hall to the room he often used for meditating and practicing his magic. The walls were enchanted to look like windows, showing whatever weather best suited his mood. It was raining today.

Magnus didn't need to prepare to face the villagers, he knew what he would do to them. It would be easy. He needed to prepare emotionally. He shouldn't even be feeling like this. This connection to Alec was clearly all in his head- he'd only known him for a day. But his life had been so empty before and it suddenly felt brighter. He couldn't allow himself to get used to it. By the afternoon Alec would be gone, in a seaside village with his family, living peacefully. He would find someone nice to settle down with and Magnus would be here. Alone. 

Magnus sighed, rubbing his temples when he couldn't get his thoughts to quiet down. Frustrated, he allowed his magic to gather in a flaming ball in his hand and shoot it at the wall, letting it explode into a bright array of fireworks before it made contact.

"Whoa."

Magnus turned and found Alec standing in the door way. He'd changed into the red tunic and black pants and belt. Magnus berated himself for leaving clothes in the colors associated with himself. It made his possessive side rear its head, as if it wasn't bad enough before. 

"Are you alright?" Alec gestured to where the ball of magic had exploded.

Magnus stood, waving it off. "I was just thinking. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Hey, before we go... I know you've already done a lot for me, but I don't want to go in there defenseless. I know you could probably wipe everyone out with a blink, but..."

"You want to be able to protect yourself?"

Alec relaxed. "Exactly."

"What would you like? A flaming sword? A hatchet? A mace?"

"Uh, a bow and arrows. If that's okay."

Magnus raised an eyebrow, summoning a large black bow and a red quiver full of arrows. All of it enchanted for accuracy and ease of use. "You're an archer?"

"Mostly for hunting. Everyone learned to fight growing up there. I can wield a sword, but I prefer a bow." Alec reverently ran a hand along the edge of the black bow. For a split second Magnus was jealous of the weapon. He stomped the feeling down.

"I see. Shall we go then?"

Alec paused and then nodded. 

Magnus took one last chance to look over him, admiring how wonderful he looked against the fake windows and rain pouring down behind him. Although, he probably looked wonderful in any situation. 

Magnus raised his hands and with a fancy, overly dramatic gesture, opened a portal back to the center of the town. There was no use being discrete this time. He wanted them to know he was coming.

Magnus stepped through the portal first, but Alec was only a second behind him. They appeared on the podium where the pyre had been mostly taken down. Magnus closed the portal and destroyed the rest of the pyre with a flick of his wrist and a flash of red magic. People had been busily cascading through the streets, gathering weapons, preparing for the fight they believed was coming. They had all stopped the moment Magnus appeared, Alec by his side.

A woman that looked like an older version of Alec's sister dropped the crate in her arms and ran to the podium, climbing onto it to wrap Alec in her arms. "My boy, you're alive. Thank the gods. I thought I lost you."

Magnus turned, deliberately not listening in on their conversation as he worried it was a violation of privacy. Instead, he focused on his magic, letting it flow throughout the village, turning every piece of armor to dust, melting every weapon, burning every strategy map to ashes. His father would've been so disappointed.

Confused voices rang out in the streets. Half-dressed people hurried into buildings to find clothing to replace their ruined armor. It was chaos. Confused, peaceful chaos. Magnus felt his lips twitch up as he surveyed the scene.

Until the old man that had lit the match to set fire to Alec's pyre stormed up to the podium. His eyes were blazing as he climbed up to meet them. Alec moved to stand in front of his mother while Magnus gathered his magic at his fingertips. He'd told Alec he wouldn't harm anyone, but if this man so much as touched Alec, Magnus would set him on fire. 

"You ruined everything!" The man spat at Alec, "You turned the god of war against us, you imbecile!" He turned to Magnus, bending into a low bow. "Please, god of destruction and-"

Magnus had heard enough. He snapped his fingers, using magic to silence the man who just kept trying to talk. He glanced at Alec. "Let me kill him."

Alec nodded. Magnus curled his fingers into a fist and the man turned into a small pile of ashes, fluttering into the wind. It wasn't as satisfying as Magnus had hoped, but he didn't want to scare the villagers. Or Alec. Mostly Alec.

Magnus raised his voice so the gathering crowd could hear him when he spoke. "If any of you attempts to sacrifice an innocent person to me ever again, I will burn you from the inside out. I don't condone senseless acts of violence and have thus stripped all of you of your ability to fight. Any time you touch a weapon it will melt in your hands. If you try to wear armor, it will disintegrate before you get it on. If you so much as start a fist fight, I will be there to make you wish you'd never been born."

"Magnus." He turned to find Alec watching him with an unreadable expression. "Thank you. For everything."

"Anything for you darling."

"You saved my son. Thank you." Alec's mother started to kneel to pray, but Alec stopped her. Magnus shot him a grateful smile.

"It was my pleasure. I'll leave you to talk to your family. I'm sure they're worried sick. Just shoot me a message, and by message I mean a telepathic prayer, and I'll take you to that town by the ocean. Or anywhere else you want to go." Magnus reopened his portal and stepped back into his palace to slump against the wall. He hadn't even said goodbye yet and he was already missing Alec. The silence was deafening.

He waited in the hall until he heard the faint echo of Alec's voice, calling for him. He was more eager than he should've been when he opened another portal and found himself in front of an older house on the edge of Alec's village. "Magnus!" Alec stood outside of the house, still dressed in the clothing Magnus had created for him, the bow and quiver strung over his shoulder.

"Alexander. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." His family stood behind him, all of them seeming weary, but keeping their chins up.

Alec's sister, Isabelle, was actually grinning at him, seeming to be the most comfortable of the group, besides Alec. "Magnus, thank you for saving my brother. I don't know how we can ever repay you."

"It was entirely selfish, I couldn't let his pretty face go to waste like that." Isabelle giggled and Alec flushed so Magnus considered his joke successful. He waved a hand and opened yet another portal. He could almost smell the salt of the ocean on the other side of it. "You'll all be safe there."

Alec ushered his family through, but hung back. 

"Alexander?"

Alec looked up, met Magnus' glowing eyes, and relaxed. He shrugged off the weapons. "Sorry, I guess I didn't need these."

Magnus held up a hand. "I have no use for them. Perhaps you can use them for hunting."

Alec nodded. "You should visit me. If you want to. You don't have to, I just, you said that thing to Isabelle and I thought maybe... Sorry, I'm making a fool of myself."

"You're not," Magnus assured him. "I would love to see you again and I'm sorry I haven't made that abundantly clear. I have a history of coming on too strong and you were in a bad headspace. I didn't want you to feel pressured."

"Okay. Okay." 

Magnus started to speak, but before he could, Alec had stepped in and leaned down to capture his lips in a needy kiss, fingers curling into Magnus' tunic to hold him close. Magnus returned the kiss with everything he had, cataloging how Alec tasted like powdered sugar and cinnamon and hope. 

When Alec eventually stepped back to breathe, he pressed his forehead against Magnus'. "I'll see you again? Soon?"

"After a kiss like that, you'll have a hard time getting rid of me."

Alec grinned down at him for a perfect moment before glancing at the portal. "I should go."

"Your family is waiting."

"Visit me. Tonight."

"I'll be there."

Alec nodded. Magnus took one last chance to appreciate him before he stepped into the portal. Magnus closed it behind him and returned to his palace, feeling more hopeful than he had in decades. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the ending was conclusive enough and that y'all enjoyed the story!


End file.
